Maori urban geographies of whakamanatanga: Empowered Maori urbanism, space/place-based social movements and practices of everyday life in Auckland, New Zealand

This PhD dissertation focuses on ways in which Maori have embraced the city as a place of opportunity and have developed uniquely Maori urbanisms that are based in whakamanatanga (empowerment) rather than crisis or resistance. These whakamanatanga-based Maori urbanisms are connected to what I refer to as Maori urban geographies of whakamanatanga . These geographies are characterized by Maori, living and working in Aotearoa New Zealand cities, who are creating urban geographies that foster, maintain and reproduce positive Maori urban identities and ways of life.;These geographies are framed within a theoretical approach that views both space and place as interdependent concepts. I argue that the development of space and place has reached a critical moment whereby these two concepts can no longer be viewed as separate in any theoretically meaningful way. Instead, I propose a space/place conceptual framework that treats space/place as mutually constitutive. I further argue that the insertion of indigenous perspectives into this space/place framework is necessary when applying this theory to research involving indigenous related issues.;This framework is then applied to the development of Maori urbanisms in Aotearoa New Zealand. These urbanisms are, it is argued, a product of both the challenges and opportunities cities have afforded Maori. Their responses to these urban challenges/opportunities have lead to multiple ways in which Maori, individually and in groups, have responded to life in cities. The main focus of this research is forms of Maori urbanisms grounded in whakamanatanga, and in particular the geographic manifestations of these urbanisms.;The final chapters of this dissertation draw on empirical research undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand over the course of six months in 2007 and 2008. This research shows how Maori, across a broad range of professions and in one specific place, are creating historically, socially and materially these urban geographies of whakamanatanga in the context of everyday life. A more specific focus on a place called Mana Moko-Te Karanga (Kfm) demonstrates how these geographies are simultaneously locally informed and globally connected. Kfm also demonstrates one possible socio-geographic formation whereby Maori can engage forces of globalization without cultural compromise.